Your Right to Know

Three board members of the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio are budgeted to spend more
than $11,000 of public funds to attend a five-day conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village
hotel.

The conference, hosted by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, takes
place in May at the Honolulu hotel, which boasts the largest spa in Waikiki, five pools, 22 acres
of white-sand beaches and “a world of blissful relaxation and rejuvenation,” according to its
website.

Tim Barbour, a spokesman for the pension fund, said the system’s board of trustees considered
the perception of taking a trip to Hawaii but decided that the pros outweighed the cons.

“Some people view (the conference) as a vacation rather than working,” Barbour said. “The people
who voted saw the means for the education.”

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, applauded the “wisdom and judgment” of the four other state
pension systems, which chose not to send representatives to Hawaii. Wachtmann, who is the vice
chairman of the Ohio Retirement Study Council, has called SERS board members Catherine Moss, Barbra
Phillips and Mary Ann Howell to the council to “explain why it’s so important to go all the way to
Hawaii.” The council, which oversees the pension systems in the state, is to meet on Tuesday.

Last year, a new law revamped Ohio’s pension systems by requiring state and local employees to
contribute billions more to establish long-term solvency. The new law also requires longer service
to qualify and reduces cost-of-living adjustments.

After that, “some would call (the trip) a kick of dirt in the face,” Wachtmann said.

But Barbour said the Hawaii conference is “the one to go to.”

Hank Kim, the executive director of the conference, said there’s nothing “exotic” about Hawaii
compared with other places the conference has been held, such as New Orleans and New York. “It’s a
beautiful place, but it’s a serious place for business, too,” Kim said.

The other four state pension systems still didn’t want to get involved.

The State Teachers Retirement System did not request funds for the trip, nor does it normally
send board members to attend the conferences, said spokesman Nick Treneff.

“The fact that it’s in Hawaii raises eyebrows,” Treneff said. “A lot of folks watch their
expenses with public dollars.”